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Remember when I said that I planned on revealing a new OC in this chapter or something like that? Unfortunately, plans have a habit of being ruined, and this one is no exception. Please don't hate me *shot*.

...

Glad that shot didn't hit me. Now let's continue on with the story. I think you'll really enjoy this chapter, but before we begin, I have something to say.

I have to give thanks to both Jerda Foks and jstinftw! for helping write and proofreading this story. It wouldn't have been possible to make this chapter so good without them. I have to give a bit of thanks to Moonlight Absol as well, but she hasn't been around at all lately. Anyway. On with the chapter.

Chapter 7

Succumbing to the desires of both Iris and her mother, after a long day of training, traveling, and socializing, the group had taken rest within their home for the night. Up until the middle of the night, while everyone else was asleep in their own separate rooms, Ash continued to lie awake in his own bed, sorting out his own thoughts as Pikachu slept, curled up into a ball at his side while Oshawott rested at his feet, his body sprawled across the sheets.

“What is wrong with Oshawott all of a sudden? Everyone is making a big deal about him possibly having a crush on Emolga, but isn’t that the same as wanting to be best friends with someone? Even then, Oshawott and Emolga are already friends with each other, so what more could he possibly want? Was my mom wrong this whole time? Is there something beyond friendship or even best-friendship?” As these thoughts and ideas continued to torment him, he soon rose from the bed in his blue pajamas. As he rose to his feet and began to walk to the door, both Pikachu and Oshawott began to rise from their sleep, giving huge yawns in the process. Standing by the still unopened door, Ash turned around to see both of his Pokémon awake and still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’m just going downstairs to get some water,” Ash said to keep them from getting upset. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Wait!” Oshawott quickly signaled before his trainer could turn the knob on the door. As Ash stood feeling somewhat puzzled by his Pokémon’s sudden warning, Oshawott walked towards the foot of the bed and grabbed a small, clear glass that stood on the drawer nearby.

“Oh! I forgot about that glass. Thank you, Osha…wott?” Ash said as he began to walk towards Oshawott, but quickly stopped in his tracks, his face showing more signs of nausea as he witnessed Oshawott slowly fill the glass with his Water Gun attack. Even Pikachu couldn’t help but feel a bit grossed out after witnessing this moment.

“Umm, that’s nice, Oshawott, but I think I’ll just get a glass while I’m downstairs.” Ash said, trying to sound as sincere as possible before finally opening the door and leaving the room. As Pikachu went back to sleep into his curled position, Oshawott still stood awake, looking at the partially filled glass of water in his hand.

“What’s his problem? This is perfectly good drinking water,” Oshawott convinced himself before drinking a bit of the water himself. At first, he did not think the water would be bad at all, but after taking a bit of water into his mouth, he quickly spat it all out in disgust, dropping the empty glass on the bed in the process. As Oshawott ran frantically after Ash through the already open door, Pikachu could only laugh softly to himself as he watched Oshawott’s ordeal with one eye open before finally falling asleep. As Oshawott continued to run down the hall towards the stairs, still feeling traumatized, he was eventually stopped in his tracks when he ran into Ash’s leg and fell.

“What was that?” Ash asked himself before turning around and looking down to see Oshawott brushing his tongue with his hands. “What happened to you, Oshawott?! Are you okay?” Ash asked with a look of concern before bending down to get a closer look at the unfortunate sea otter.

“Do not drink the Pokémon water!” Oshawott shouted to Ash, who only became even more confused by his inaudible chirping.

“Calm down, Oshawott!” Ash said, desperate to keep Oshawott from making more noise, but his prayers were soon answered when the door behind him began to open. As the door opened wider and a figure appeared from behind it, Oshawott’s attention began to shift away from the bad taste in his mouth and his voice became quieter and quieter until he finally fell silent. Ash was both puzzled and relieved by Oshawott’s sudden silence for a short moment until he heard a voice come from the dark figure.

“Ash, what are you doing up here so late at night?”

“Huh? That voice.” Ash thought to himself after hearing the familiar voice before he turned back around to see Iris rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stay awake.

“I-Iris!” Ash stammered as he scrambled back to Iris’s height. “Umm, sorry we woke you up, Iris.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Iris said “I was having a bad dream anyway, so it’s okay.”

“Bad dream?” Ash quickly responded, suddenly looking worried.

“Don’t worry about it too much; it was just a random dream,” Iris lied, feeling somewhat worried that Ash would catch on to her. “So, what are you doing up?” For a short moment, Ash felt somewhat skeptical of Iris, but decided to put his suspicions aside for the moment to answer her question.

“Well, I just got a bit thirsty, so I got up to get some water.”

“Oh!” Iris responded, feeling somewhat sad as she looked from Ash and towards her right arm as she rubbed it in an attempt to comfort herself. For a moment, there was an awkward silence between Ash and Iris as Oshawott continued to look at them from the background, curious about what would happen next. Incapable of taking the silence for any longer, Ash began to speak once again.

“Well, I guess I’ll just go now.” Ash said before walking past Iris and towards the stairs. As Ash walked farther and farther away, Iris could not help but become progressively sadder as Oshawott stood by her, feeling worried as well.

“Wait.” Iris called, unable to tolerate her own sadness anymore.

“Yes.” Ash responded as he turned around to face Iris again.

“Umm,” Iris trailed off, trying to gather as much courage as she can as Ash stood waiting near the stairs. “After you get your water, would it be alright if you could spend the rest of the night in my room?”

“W-W-W-What?!” Ash stammered, completely dumbfounded by Iris’s sudden request as his face began to turn a bright red. Oshawott only stood at the side looking surprised as well as Ash struggled to manage his current thoughts.

“Y-You don’t have to freak out so much, Ash,” Iris quickly corrected as a flush of red came across her face as well. “I just thought it would be a good idea to help Emolga and Oshawott bond with each other.”

“I don’t know about this,” Ash responded as he began to scratch his head.

“I knew you wouldn’t be up to this,” Iris said as a smirk began to form on her face. “Even when it’s something that’s going to help your Pokémon, you’re still too scared to enter a girl’s room. You’re such a kid.”

“What? There’s no way that I’m a kid; in fact, I bet I’m way more mature than you are.” Ash said as he began to spread his arms apart in an effort to show the maturity difference between him and Iris.

“Then prove it by spending the night in my room.” Iris said with a tone of confidence.

“Alright! It’s on!” Ash responded, feeling more eager than he ever did whenever he challenged Iris.

~*~

After coming back from his quick trip for water, Ash was finally in Iris’s room. To be honest, there was little difference between her room and the room that Ash was resting in only minutes ago, but even so, he couldn’t help but feel nervous as he lay awake in his green sleeping bag while Iris, Emolga, and Oshawott lay awake in the bed next to him as well; after all, it was the first time that he had ever slept in a room by himself, alone with a girl that was around his age. For a minute, the room was silent with the exception of the trees outside that rustled as the wind blew, but unable to take the silence anymore, Iris began to speak.

“It’s been a while since we’ve actually slept alone together like this, hasn’t it.” Iris said with a shaky voice that signified that she was nervous as well.

“Y-Yeah,” Ash responded. “Now that I think about it, the last time we ever hung out like this was when we first started traveling with each other.”

“Again, I wasn’t traveling with you at that time,” Iris quickly lied, her voice sounding almost playful this time. “I just happened to be traveling in the same direction as you, and then you started following me as if you were a lost, little kid.”

“Gah! Even now, you still can’t resist teasing me, can you,” Ash complained with an annoyed look as he put his hands behind his head. “I wonder if you had any friends from the Dragon Village that you teased like that.” As soon as she heard this, Iris’s demeanor began to worsen and show signs of sadness as she raised her upper body away from the bed. As both Oshawott and Emolga raised their bodies from the bed, Iris looked towards Ash and began to speak.

“Ash…When I was growing up in the Dragon Village, I never made any friends.” Ash immediately felt guilty about what he had just said. Even by his own standards, Ash could not deny that what he had said was thoughtless. Oshawott and Emolga could only look at Iris in both surprise and pity after hearing this news.

“Iris,” Ash said, trying to sound as sincere as possible as he raised his upper body from the floor and turned towards Iris. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know tha-,”

“You don’t need to apologize, Ash,” Iris interrupted. “There’s no way that you could’ve known earlier, so it’s okay.”

“But it’s not okay,” Ash insisted. “I said something careless and ended up hurting your feelings because of that. I really am a kid if I’m doing stuff like that.” Not once has Iris ever seen Ash care so much about how his actions affect other people. She was even more shocked to hear Ash admitting right in front of her that he was a kid, even though it was just something that she liked to call him to spark a reaction and get a small laugh.

“I’m serious, Ash. It’s okay,” Iris said, feeling a bit guilty as well, but as she continued, a warm smile began to form on her face. “It’s okay because I made so many great friends during my travels after meeting you, and you were the best one that I ever made.”

“T-That was very nice of you to say,” Ash said as a blush came across his face. All previous worries and nervousness forgotten, a serene silence filled the room. For once in this night, both Ash and Iris were alone with each other, and they were at peace along with their Pokémon, who took special care not to interrupt this special moment.

“We should probably go to bed now. It’s getting late.” Iris yawned, putting an end to the long silence.

“Yeah, we should.” Ash agreed as he gave a big yawn before lying down in his sleeping bag once again.

“Hey, Ash? Before you fall asleep, I want to ask you something.” Iris said.

“Sure. What did you want to ask?” Ash responded.

“Tomorrow, there’s someplace special that I want to show you, but I want you to come by yourself. You can still bring your Pokémon, but I don’t want anyone else to see this place. Is that okay?” Iris asked, feeling somewhat nervous about the possibility of rejection.

“…Sure, I’ll come along,” Ash agreed as he gave a huge yawn of his own. “Cilan and Georgia might feel a little sad about being left out, but this is something that you want, so I guess it’s okay.” He said with another yawn before finally falling asleep.

“Goodnight, Ash.” Iris said before lying down and falling asleep as well, the Pokémon quickly following suit.

~*~

Hours after the intimate conversation between Ash and Iris, dawn began to break over the Dragon Village, and the eventful night came to an end. As the sun rose higher up from the mountains in the distance, light began to fill the room and Ash began to wake from his long rest with a huge yawn. As Ash rose to his feet and began to stretch, he turned his head to see Oshawott and Emolga still asleep at the foot of the bed.

“Hmm, they’re still asleep. I better not make too much noise.” Ash murmured to himself. After seeing the Pokémon sleeping peacefully, Ash began to wonder if Iris slept in as well. At first, Ash doubted this at first, but after turning his head to the right, to his surprise, he saw Iris sprawled across the bed with the sheets ruffled and pulled away, revealing more of Iris’s body. Even with the curtains that covered the window next to her, a faint ray of light could be seen shining on her as small flecks of dust traveled through the air.

“She’s still asleep,” Ash thought to himself with a warm smile. “We must’ve been up pretty late last night,” For a moment, Ash continued to stare at Iris as she slept peacefully in the bed, but then, an awkward thought began to enter his mind as his attention shifted. “Her hair looks so soft. I wonder what it feels like,” Ash thought as his hand move closer to Iris’s face, but out of fear and embarrassment, he quickly pulled his hand back. “What am I doing?! I just can’t do that to a friend.” Ash debated with himself as he thought about what he had almost done. As these thoughts went through his mind, he tried to turn around and get as far away from the room as possible, but before he could even take a step, he heard a faint voice come from Iris.

“Ash. Don’t leave. Don’t…Nrgh.” Iris mumbled as she stirred in her bed. Ash was shocked at first by Iris’s sudden command, but he quickly regained his composure when he turned around to see Iris again, still asleep in her bed.

“Oh, she’s dreaming…about me?” Ash thought with a puzzled look as he returned to Iris’s side, only to see her wearing a more worried expression. “She must be having a nightmare.” Seeing Iris’s expression gradually worsen, Ash became more concerned about what he could do to comfort her. He only had one idea on how to do that, and the idea itself flustered him, but with no better solutions in his mind at the moment, Ash quickly got over his nervousness and began to move his hand towards Iris once again and began to run his fingers through a piece of her long, purple hair. “It feels so soft. Almost like grass, but more smooth and fluffy.” Ash thought to himself as he continued to caress the long hair that flowed down her body, still feeling a bit nervous. As he continued to do this, Iris began to feel at peace once again. He even saw a warm smile begin to form on her face.

“She looks so peaceful and cute,” Ash thought with a smile as well, wincing for a second at the fact that had called her friend “cute”. Ash could not help but feel confused about his current feelings, but eventually, these thoughts no longer mattered to him, and he abandoned all reasoning as he slowly moved his face closer to Iris’s. As their faces drew closer and closer, his heart began to race faster and faster at the thought that he was about to kiss Iris. Their lips only one or two inches apart, Ash began to close his eyes and prepare for the kiss, but as they began to close, Iris’s eyes began to open. At first, she was clueless about what was going on, but as she began to notice Ash’s lips so close to hers all of a sudden, she quickly backed away with a short, but loud yelp that instantly woke up all the Pokémon in the room and made Ash back away in fear and embarrassment as well.

“Ash! Were you about to…” Iris thought to herself as she put her hand towards her own lips, but before her mind could rationalize what was about to happen, the wall opposite of the window next to Iris’s bed was quickly blown apart, spreading wooden splinters across the entire room. Everyone in the room, even the Pokémon, remained dumbfounded as a floating, three-headed hydra began to enter the room. Its body looked similar to Deino’s in design, but had a pudgier, legless body with two vertical, magenta stripes that ran down it and a long tail that seemed to simply hang below it. Still unable to register the current situation, Ash, Iris, and their Pokémon, including Axew, who quickly jumped out of Iris’s hair and onto the bed, readied themselves for battle against the fierce-looking Pokémon, but their worries quickly vanished when they heard a familiar voice from behind the floating dragon.

“Iris! Are you okay?!”

“Mom, is that you?! And what was that all about?!” Iris angrily replied, recognizing both her voice and the Pokémon in front of her.

“Well,” Iris’s mother continued as she came from behind the surprisingly undamaged door on the wall and into the view of the two children and their Pokémon. “I came up here to let you and your friend know that breakfast was ready, but I didn’t see Ash in his room, and then I heard a cry come from here.”

“But did you really need to have Hydreigon destroy the wall in the process?” Iris fumed.

“I didn’t want to take any risks with a potential pervert in the house,” Iris’s mom said as she glared at Ash, who felt both guilty and unnerved. “Besides, it’s more effective and awesome to bust through the wall than just slowly enter through the door.” Iris could only blush in embarrassment along with Ash before responding.

“Ash isn’t a pervert and he wasn’t going to do anything bad to me.” Iris’s mom was somewhat puzzled that her daughter was defending Ash, but once she took a second look at him, she began to see the expression of guilt on his face as well.

“Reckless love,” Iris’s mom sighed under her breath, making sure not to be heard. “Well, anyway, breakfast is ready, so get dressed up and come downstairs.

“Yes, Mom.” Iris answered.

“And Ash.” Iris’s mom continued.

“Yes.” Ash quickly replied.

“Don’t put your hands anywhere on my daughter where they shouldn’t be.” And with those last few words, Iris’s mom left from their view and went downstairs, soon followed by Hydreigon, who gave a short cry as if to welcome Iris before finally leaving the room. The Pokémon could only stand with dumbfounded looks on their faces as both Ash and Iris exited through the newly created hole in the wall.

I promise you all that the next chapter will be dedicated to the actual tournament, and THAT'S when we'll see the OC and former "guest of the episode" character. I really promise to do this in Chapter 8.

Thanks PokeMaster for acknowledging us both at the bottom of the fic. I really did enjoy proofreading and helping with the chapter and I hope I can continue in that role. That being said, I've really seen this chapter before it was here, but seeing it all put together makes it seem almost new again. It shows Negaishipping off really well, while at the same time keeping the characters true to their anime selves. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did and eagerly await the next installment.
(Give me a SHOUT if you love PokeMaster's job on Iris's mom! lol)

† I am a Christian and proud of it! Copy and paste this if you are too.†

Remember when I said that I planned on revealing a new OC in this chapter or something like that? Unfortunately, plans have a habit of being ruined, and this one is no exception. Please don't hate me *shot*.

...

Glad that shot didn't hit me. Now let's continue on with the story. I think you'll really enjoy this chapter, but before we begin, I have something to say.

I have to give thanks to both Jerda Foks and jstinftw! for helping write and proofreading this story. It wouldn't have been possible to make this chapter so good without them. I have to give a bit of thanks to Moonlight Absol as well, but she hasn't been around at all lately. Anyway. On with the chapter.

Chapter 7

Succumbing to the desires of both Iris and her mother, after a long day of training, traveling, and socializing, the group had taken rest within their home for the night. Up until the middle of the night, while everyone else was asleep in their own separate rooms, Ash continued to lie awake in his own bed, sorting out his own thoughts as Pikachu slept, curled up into a ball at his side while Oshawott rested at his feet, his body sprawled across the sheets.

“What is wrong with Oshawott all of a sudden? Everyone is making a big deal about him possibly having a crush on Emolga, but isn’t that the same as wanting to be best friends with someone? Even then, Oshawott and Emolga are already friends with each other, so what more could he possibly want? Was my mom wrong this whole time? Is there something beyond friendship or even best-friendship?” As these thoughts and ideas continued to torment him, he soon rose from the bed in his blue pajamas. As he rose to his feet and began to walk to the door, both Pikachu and Oshawott began to rise from their sleep, giving huge yawns in the process. Standing by the still unopened door, Ash turned around to see both of his Pokémon awake and still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’m just going downstairs to get some water,” Ash said to keep them from getting upset. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Wait!” Oshawott quickly signaled before his trainer could turn the knob on the door. As Ash stood feeling somewhat puzzled by his Pokémon’s sudden warning, Oshawott walked towards the foot of the bed and grabbed a small, clear glass that stood on the drawer nearby.

“Oh! I forgot about that glass. Thank you, Osha…wott?” Ash said as he began to walk towards Oshawott, but quickly stopped in his tracks, his face showing more signs of nausea as he witnessed Oshawott slowly fill the glass with his Water Gun attack. Even Pikachu couldn’t help but feel a bit grossed out after witnessing this moment.

“Umm, that’s nice, Oshawott, but I think I’ll just get a glass while I’m downstairs.” Ash said, trying to sound as sincere as possible before finally opening the door and leaving the room. As Pikachu went back to sleep into his curled position, Oshawott still stood awake, looking at the partially filled glass of water in his hand.

“What’s his problem? This is perfectly good drinking water,” Oshawott convinced himself before drinking a bit of the water himself. At first, he did not think the water would be bad at all, but after taking a bit of water into his mouth, he quickly spat it all out in disgust, dropping the empty glass on the bed in the process. As Oshawott ran frantically after Ash through the already open door, Pikachu could only laugh softly to himself as he watched Oshawott’s ordeal with one eye open before finally falling asleep. As Oshawott continued to run down the hall towards the stairs, still feeling traumatized, he was eventually stopped in his tracks when he ran into Ash’s leg and fell.

“What was that?” Ash asked himself before turning around and looking down to see Oshawott brushing his tongue with his hands. “What happened to you, Oshawott?! Are you okay?” Ash asked with a look of concern before bending down to get a closer look at the unfortunate sea otter.

“Do not drink the Pokémon water!” Oshawott shouted to Ash, who only became even more confused by his inaudible chirping.

“Calm down, Oshawott!” Ash said, desperate to keep Oshawott from making more noise, but his prayers were soon answered when the door behind him began to open. As the door opened wider and a figure appeared from behind it, Oshawott’s attention began to shift away from the bad taste in his mouth and his voice became quieter and quieter until he finally fell silent. Ash was both puzzled and relieved by Oshawott’s sudden silence for a short moment until he heard a voice come from the dark figure.

“Ash, what are you doing up here so late at night?”

“Huh? That voice.” Ash thought to himself after hearing the familiar voice before he turned back around to see Iris rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stay awake.

“I-Iris!” Ash stammered as he scrambled back to Iris’s height. “Umm, sorry we woke you up, Iris.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Iris said “I was having a bad dream anyway, so it’s okay.”

“Bad dream?” Ash quickly responded, suddenly looking worried.

“Don’t worry about it too much; it was just a random dream,” Iris lied, feeling somewhat worried that Ash would catch on to her. “So, what are you doing up?” For a short moment, Ash felt somewhat skeptical of Iris, but decided to put his suspicions aside for the moment to answer her question.

“Well, I just got a bit thirsty, so I got up to get some water.”

“Oh!” Iris responded, feeling somewhat sad as she looked from Ash and towards her right arm as she rubbed it in an attempt to comfort herself. For a moment, there was an awkward silence between Ash and Iris as Oshawott continued to look at them from the background, curious about what would happen next. Incapable of taking the silence for any longer, Ash began to speak once again.

“Well, I guess I’ll just go now.” Ash said before walking past Iris and towards the stairs. As Ash walked farther and farther away, Iris could not help but become progressively sadder as Oshawott stood by her, feeling worried as well.

“Wait.” Iris called, unable to tolerate her own sadness anymore.

“Yes.” Ash responded as he turned around to face Iris again.

“Umm,” Iris trailed off, trying to gather as much courage as she can as Ash stood waiting near the stairs. “After you get your water, would it be alright if you could spend the rest of the night in my room?”

“W-W-W-What?!” Ash stammered, completely dumbfounded by Iris’s sudden request as his face began to turn a bright red. Oshawott only stood at the side looking surprised as well as Ash struggled to manage his current thoughts.

“Y-You don’t have to freak out so much, Ash,” Iris quickly corrected as a flush of red came across her face as well. “I just thought it would be a good idea to help Emolga and Oshawott bond with each other.”

“I don’t know about this,” Ash responded as he began to scratch his head.

“I knew you wouldn’t be up to this,” Iris said as a smirk began to form on her face. “Even when it’s something that’s going to help your Pokémon, you’re still too scared to enter a girl’s room. You’re such a kid.”

“What? There’s no way that I’m a kid; in fact, I bet I’m way more mature than you are.” Ash said as he began to spread his arms apart in an effort to show the maturity difference between him and Iris.

“Then prove it by spending the night in my room.” Iris said with a tone of confidence.

“Alright! It’s on!” Ash responded, feeling more eager than he ever did whenever he challenged Iris.

~*~

After coming back from his quick trip for water, Ash was finally in Iris’s room. To be honest, there was little difference between her room and the room that Ash was resting in only minutes ago, but even so, he couldn’t help but feel nervous as he lay awake in his green sleeping bag while Iris, Emolga, and Oshawott lay awake in the bed next to him as well; after all, it was the first time that he had ever slept in a room by himself, alone with a girl that was around his age. For a minute, the room was silent with the exception of the trees outside that rustled as the wind blew, but unable to take the silence anymore, Iris began to speak.

“It’s been a while since we’ve actually slept alone together like this, hasn’t it.” Iris said with a shaky voice that signified that she was nervous as well.

“Y-Yeah,” Ash responded. “Now that I think about it, the last time we ever hung out like this was when we first started traveling with each other.”

“Again, I wasn’t traveling with you at that time,” Iris quickly lied, her voice sounding almost playful this time. “I just happened to be traveling in the same direction as you, and then you started following me as if you were a lost, little kid.”

“Gah! Even now, you still can’t resist teasing me, can you,” Ash complained with an annoyed look as he put his hands behind his head. “I wonder if you had any friends from the Dragon Village that you teased like that.” As soon as she heard this, Iris’s demeanor began to worsen and show signs of sadness as she raised her upper body away from the bed. As both Oshawott and Emolga raised their bodies from the bed, Iris looked towards Ash and began to speak.

“Ash…When I was growing up in the Dragon Village, I never made any friends.” Ash immediately felt guilty about what he had just said. Even by his own standards, Ash could not deny that what he had said was thoughtless. Oshawott and Emolga could only look at Iris in both surprise and pity after hearing this news.

“Iris,” Ash said, trying to sound as sincere as possible as he raised his upper body from the floor and turned towards Iris. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know tha-,”

“You don’t need to apologize, Ash,” Iris interrupted. “There’s no way that you could’ve known earlier, so it’s okay.”

“But it’s not okay,” Ash insisted. “I said something careless and ended up hurting your feelings because of that. I really am a kid if I’m doing stuff like that.” Not once has Iris ever seen Ash care so much about how his actions affect other people. She was even more shocked to hear Ash admitting right in front of her that he was a kid, even though it was just something that she liked to call him to spark a reaction and get a small laugh.

“I’m serious, Ash. It’s okay,” Iris said, feeling a bit guilty as well, but as she continued, a warm smile began to form on her face. “It’s okay because I made so many great friends during my travels after meeting you, and you were the best one that I ever made.”

“T-That was very nice of you to say,” Ash said as a blush came across his face. All previous worries and nervousness forgotten, a serene silence filled the room. For once in this night, both Ash and Iris were alone with each other, and they were at peace along with their Pokémon, who took special care not to interrupt this special moment.

“We should probably go to bed now. It’s getting late.” Iris yawned, putting an end to the long silence.

“Yeah, we should.” Ash agreed as he gave a big yawn before lying down in his sleeping bag once again.

“Hey, Ash? Before you fall asleep, I want to ask you something.” Iris said.

“Sure. What did you want to ask?” Ash responded.

“Tomorrow, there’s someplace special that I want to show you, but I want you to come by yourself. You can still bring your Pokémon, but I don’t want anyone else to see this place. Is that okay?” Iris asked, feeling somewhat nervous about the possibility of rejection.

“…Sure, I’ll come along,” Ash agreed as he gave a huge yawn of his own. “Cilan and Georgia might feel a little sad about being left out, but this is something that you want, so I guess it’s okay.” He said with another yawn before finally falling asleep.

“Goodnight, Ash.” Iris said before lying down and falling asleep as well, the Pokémon quickly following suit.

~*~

Hours after the intimate conversation between Ash and Iris, dawn began to break over the Dragon Village, and the eventful night came to an end. As the sun rose higher up from the mountains in the distance, light began to fill the room and Ash began to wake from his long rest with a huge yawn. As Ash rose to his feet and began to stretch, he turned his head to see Oshawott and Emolga still asleep at the foot of the bed.

“Hmm, they’re still asleep. I better not make too much noise.” Ash murmured to himself. After seeing the Pokémon sleeping peacefully, Ash began to wonder if Iris slept in as well. At first, Ash doubted this at first, but after turning his head to the right, to his surprise, he saw Iris sprawled across the bed with the sheets ruffled and pulled away, revealing more of Iris’s body. Even with the curtains that covered the window next to her, a faint ray of light could be seen shining on her as small flecks of dust traveled through the air.

“She’s still asleep,” Ash thought to himself with a warm smile. “We must’ve been up pretty late last night,” For a moment, Ash continued to stare at Iris as she slept peacefully in the bed, but then, an awkward thought began to enter his mind as his attention shifted. “Her hair looks so soft. I wonder what it feels like,” Ash thought as his hand move closer to Iris’s face, but out of fear and embarrassment, he quickly pulled his hand back. “What am I doing?! I just can’t do that to a friend.” Ash debated with himself as he thought about what he had almost done. As these thoughts went through his mind, he tried to turn around and get as far away from the room as possible, but before he could even take a step, he heard a faint voice come from Iris.

“Ash. Don’t leave. Don’t…Nrgh.” Iris mumbled as she stirred in her bed. Ash was shocked at first by Iris’s sudden command, but he quickly regained his composure when he turned around to see Iris again, still asleep in her bed.

“Oh, she’s dreaming…about me?” Ash thought with a puzzled look as he returned to Iris’s side, only to see her wearing a more worried expression. “She must be having a nightmare.” Seeing Iris’s expression gradually worsen, Ash became more concerned about what he could do to comfort her. He only had one idea on how to do that, and the idea itself flustered him, but with no better solutions in his mind at the moment, Ash quickly got over his nervousness and began to move his hand towards Iris once again and began to run his fingers through a piece of her long, purple hair. “It feels so soft. Almost like grass, but more smooth and fluffy.” Ash thought to himself as he continued to caress the long hair that flowed down her body, still feeling a bit nervous. As he continued to do this, Iris began to feel at peace once again. He even saw a warm smile begin to form on her face.

“She looks so peaceful and cute,” Ash thought with a smile as well, wincing for a second at the fact that had called her friend “cute”. Ash could not help but feel confused about his current feelings, but eventually, these thoughts no longer mattered to him, and he abandoned all reasoning as he slowly moved his face closer to Iris’s. As their faces drew closer and closer, his heart began to race faster and faster at the thought that he was about to kiss Iris. Their lips only one or two inches, Ash began to close his eyes and prepare for the kiss, but as they began to close, Iris’s eyes began to open. At first, she was clueless about what was going on, but as she began to notice Ash’s lips so close to hers all of a sudden, she quickly backed away with a short, but loud yelp that instantly woke up all the Pokémon in the room and made Ash back away in fear and embarrassment as well.

“Ash! Were you about to…” Iris thought to herself as she put her hand towards her own lips, but before her mind could rationalize what was about to happen, the wall opposite of the window next to Iris’s bed was quickly blown apart, spreading wooden splinters across the entire room. Everyone in the room, even the Pokémon, remained dumbfounded as a floating, three-headed hydra began to enter the room. Its body looked similar to Deino’s in design, but had a pudgier, legless body with two vertical, magenta stripes that ran down it and a long tail that seemed to simply hang below it. Still unable to register the current situation, Ash, Iris, and their Pokémon, including Axew, who quickly jumped out of Iris’s hair and onto the bed, readied themselves for battle against the fierce-looking Pokémon, but their worries quickly vanished when they heard a familiar voice from behind the floating dragon.

“Iris! Are you okay?!”

“Mom, is that you?! And what was that all about?!” Iris angrily replied, recognizing both her voice and the Pokémon in front of her.

“Well,” Iris’s mother continued as she came from behind the surprisingly undamaged door on the wall and into the view of the two children and their Pokémon. “I came up here to let you and your friend know that breakfast was ready, but I didn’t see Ash in his room, and then I heard a cry come from here.”

“But did you really need to have Hydreigon destroy the wall in the process?” Iris fumed.

“I didn’t want to take any risks with a potential pervert in the house,” Iris’s mom said as she glared at Ash, who felt both guilty and unnerved. “Besides, it’s more effective and awesome to bust through the wall than just slowly enter through the door.” Iris could only blush in embarrassment along with Ash before responding.

“Ash isn’t a pervert and he wasn’t going to do anything bad to me.” Iris’s mom was somewhat puzzled that her daughter was defending Ash, but once she took a second look at him, she began to see the expression of guilt on his face as well.

“Reckless love,” Iris’s mom sighed under her breath, making sure not to be heard. “Well, anyway, breakfast is ready, so get dressed up and come downstairs.

“Yes, Mom.” Iris answered.

“And Ash.” Iris’s mom continued.

“Yes.” Ash quickly replied.

“Don’t put your hands anywhere on my daughter where they shouldn’t be.” And with those last few words, Iris’s mom left from their view and went downstairs, soon followed by Hydreigon, who gave a short cry as if to welcome Iris before finally leaving the room. The Pokémon could only stand with dumbfounded looks on their faces as both Ash and Iris exited through the newly created hole in the wall.

I promise you all that the next chapter will be dedicated to the actual tournament, and THAT'S when we'll see the OC and former "guest of the episode" character. I really promise to do this in Chapter 8.

Even though I'm gonna cmment again about the same chapter, once agin, I eally loved the ending. I really laughed when Mijumaru said, "Don't drink the Pokemon water!" like he was panicing or something since I can imagine the scene perectly with Mijumaru panicing in a hilarious way. I bet his Pokemon water must be his saliva. and it seems like Iris's mother is both the loving mother and the over protective father figure since Iris doesn't have a dad. It kinda reminds me of the Ouran High School Host Club scene where Tamaki accidentily laid on top of Haruhi and her tranny father found them with him turning Super Saiyan in a second lol. I actually liked the scene where Ash spent a night in Iris's room. I'm glad that it didn't end like most shipping fanfictions which the characters become very OOC. I also loved the heart throbbing scene when Ash was about to kiss Iris, Ash would really do that if this scene actually happened. Very entertaining chapter, please take all the time that you need for the next chapter, you can't rush perfection!

Even though I'm gonna cmment again about the same chapter, once agin, I eally loved the ending. I really laughed when Mijumaru said, "Don't drink the Pokemon water!" like he was panicing or something since I can imagine the scene perectly with Mijumaru panicing in a hilarious way. I bet his Pokemon water must be his saliva. and it seems like Iris's mother is both the loving mother and the over protective father figure since Iris doesn't have a dad. It kinda reminds me of the Ouran High School Host Club scene where Tamaki accidentily laid on top of Haruhi and her tranny father found them with him turning Super Saiyan in a second lol. I actually liked the scene where Ash spent a night in Iris's room. I'm glad that it didn't end like most shipping fanfictions which the characters become very OOC. I also loved the heart throbbing scene when Ash was about to kiss Iris, Ash would really do that if this scene actually happened. Very entertaining chapter, please take all the time that you need for the next chapter, you can't rush perfection!

Thank you for coming over to add a review for the chapter even though you were forced to against your will. About the water, honestly, drinking that water is about the equivalent of drinking Ocean saltwater mixed with urine and backwash as far as taste is concerned. It's still drinkable, but people tend to avoid doing that because of the overall grossness of it all. Again, thank you for coming over and reviewing, satoharupika.

Thank you for coming over to add a review for the chapter even though you were forced to against your will. About the water, honestly, drinking that water is about the equivalent of drinking Ocean saltwater mixed with urine and backwash as far as taste is concerned. It's still drinkable, but people tend to avoid doing that because of the overall grossness of it all. Again, thank you for coming over and reviewing, satoharupika.

It's fine, I actually enjoyed reading the chapter again and writing a review on it. It keeps me up to date/let me remember what's going on in the story. :-) At least you didn't force me to listen to Justin Bieber music lol. I wouldn't drink Pokemon water either, I can't believe Dawn smetimes washes her hair with Piplup's Bubblebeam move!

It's fine, I actually enjoyed reading the chapter again and writing a review on it. It keeps me up to date/let me remember what's going on in the story. :-) At least you didn't force me to listen to Justin Bieber music lol. I wouldn't drink Pokemon water either, I can't believe Dawn smetimes washes her hair with Piplup's Bubblebeam move!

Before I begin, I just wanna say thanks for the heads up about the post. Today was the first day I was too busy to look, so when I saw your VM I got excited. :P Anywho, on to review~
Another well written chapter. Your skill at describing details really came out in this one, and they were excellent. I almost felt as if I was in the room with them. Another thing I love about your writing is that you don't take Ash's stuttering and inability to keep a calm conversation with the female of the ship too far. You've made it an amount I could see happening with a friend, rather than going overboard like almost all of the fics I've read. I also agree with Jerga, you've definitely characterized Iris' mom wonderfully. xD

Keep up the good work, and I'll be impatiently waiting for the next chapter. ^^

I really liked the new chapter. I thought it was really sweet that Oshawott made a glass of water for Ash. I wonder what it would have tasted like though, it might have tasted odd, but it could have also tasted rather fresh. I loved Iris' mum's reaction at the end as well.

Yay, I FINALLY finished. So far, the overall story is pretty good. I'm starting to understand the plot, and I like how your threw LethalAttractionShipping in there. That shipping is cute. I'm seeing that Iris's mom reminds me a little of Delia, if may be do bold to say so.

“Wait!” Oshawott quickly signaled before his trainer could turn the knob on the door. As Ash stood feeling somewhat puzzled by his Pokémon’s sudden warning, Oshawott walked towards the foot of the bed and grabbed a small, clear glass that stood on the drawer nearby.

“Oh! I forgot about that glass. Thank you, Osha…wott?” Ash said as he began to walk towards Oshawott, but quickly stopped in his tracks, his face showing more signs of nausea as he witnessed Oshawott slowly fill the glass with his Water Gun attack. Even Pikachu couldn’t help but feel a bit grossed out after witnessing this moment.

“Umm, that’s nice, Oshawott, but I think I’ll just get a glass while I’m downstairs.” Ash said, trying to sound as sincere as possible before finally opening the door and leaving the room. As Pikachu went back to sleep into his curled position, Oshawott still stood awake, looking at the partially filled glass of water in his hand.

“What’s his problem? This is perfectly good drinking water,” Oshawott convinced himself before drinking a bit of the water himself. At first, he did not think the water would be bad at all, but after taking a bit of water into his mouth, he quickly spat it all out in disgust, dropping the empty glass on the bed in the process. As Oshawott ran frantically after Ash through the already open door, Pikachu could only laugh softly to himself as he watched Oshawott’s ordeal with one eye open before finally falling asleep. As Oshawott continued to run down the hall towards the stairs, still feeling traumatized, he was eventually stopped in his tracks when he ran into Ash’s leg and fell.

“What was that?” Ash asked himself before turning around and looking down to see Oshawott brushing his tongue with his hands. “What happened to you, Oshawott?! Are you okay?” Ash asked with a look of concern before bending down to get a closer look at the unfortunate sea otter.

“Do not drink the Pokémon water!” Oshawott shouted to Ash, who only became even more confused by his inaudible chirping.

I laughed soooo hard at this part. It was freaking hilarious.

Although this far I saw two errors. The first was that those things in Oshawott's head? They're ears, not horns. And in Chapter Six it said "Snivy's right should", when it should've been "Snivy's right shoulder. Other than that, I saw no others.

Keep up the good work!

~Ninja

(((i haven't used this site in about five years so if i mess up call me out)))

Excellent stuff Pokemaster. I do like the subplot with Emolga and Oshawott, it really does sound like a good way to link with the main part of the story. My favourite part was the practice battle, but I don't get why a woman would use a Hydreigon to destroy a wall to wake someone up =P

May you PM me when you get the next chapter up, whenever that may be =P

Pretty good overall, the human characters are very well written. Georgia is more or less spot on. The pokemon get more story here and I like that.

I also like how this is a Story with shipping, and not shipping with story. I can never get into stories purely around romance, but I like stories that work it into a greater narrative.

My main problems with it is:

1. Overly long, detailed and flowery description of appearances. This is very common among fanfiction writers in general.
I will cite Tvtropes here: "describing the character's outfit as if the clothes were part of the supporting cast."
For a comparison, we never actually get a full description of characters such as Frodo or Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, and in Harry Potter even the weirdest dresses and such are dealt with short and concise. This is a legitimate issue, because these long descriptions take us out of the story.

2. The severity Oshawott's crush felt like it came completely out of nowhere. Yes, I know the otter falls for every female he sees, but I don't feel that worked. This is more a personal issue than a story problem.

I will also agree with the sentiment about Snivy calling it the Dream World.

Pretty good overall, the human characters are very well written. Georgia is more or less spot on. The pokemon get more story here and I like that.

I also like how this is a Story with shipping, and not shipping with story. I can never get into stories purely around romance, but I like stories that work it into a greater narrative.

My main problems with it is:

1. Overly long, detailed and flowery description of appearances. This is very common among fanfiction writers in general.
I will cite Tvtropes here: "describing the character's outfit as if the clothes were part of the supporting cast."
For a comparison, we never actually get a full description of characters such as Frodo or Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, and in Harry Potter even the weirdest dresses and such are dealt with short and concise. This is a legitimate issue, because these long descriptions take us out of the story.

2. The severity Oshawott's crush felt like it came completely out of nowhere. Yes, I know the otter falls for every female he sees, but I don't feel that worked. This is more a personal issue than a story problem.

I will also agree with the sentiment about Snivy calling it the Dream World.

I'm glad that you are enjoying the story so far. Now to comment on your nitpicks.

1. Yes, I'm well aware of the "flowery descriptions" issue by now. I've been hearing a lot of comments about, so I've been trying to cut down on it more and more as I progressed. Has the issue begun to fade away, or is it still an issue I haven't quite begun to clean up yet? Try not to reference TVTropes too often. I, personally, have nothing against it, but you have some other people on here that simply aren't fans.

Spoiler:- Answer to Comment #2:

2. I don't really know, but when I was writing that part, I was thinking that the situation could be somewhat justified. Attract is a move that forces the target to become infatuated with the user to the point where they are sometimes unable to attack. Now what would happen if the target was already infatuated with the user before Attract even hits? Please note that infatuation =/= love, so in some sense, you could say that Oshawott and Emolga have a relationship similar to the relationship between Sanji and Nami from the "One Piece" anime/manga.

What do you mean about Sni...oh, I see what you mean. It does seem kind of weird that Snivy is calling it the "Dream World", isn't it? Well, when you consider how tranquil and bountiful that place is compared to the actual Pokemon world that Ash and friends travel in, and you were a former resident of said "bountiful place", the world you left would seem like it was, funny enough, a Dream World (Hey! Another One Piece reference!).

Remind me to never make promises on here again. Why? Because I always end up making them too early, and this chapter and last chapter are no exception (Sorry about that :/ ). Anyway, after being away for so long, I've finally finished Chapter 8 of the story. Again, I'm sorry for the late chapter, but that'll happen when you're doing college work and preparing for VGCs at the same time. Well, let's move on now. For everyone who so patiently waited, here is the eighth chapter of "The Truth Beneath the Iris." For those of you who couldn't wait and decided to do something else like write their own fics or do their work, I'm glad that you didn't rage at me.

After the small fiasco that had taken place in front of Ash and Iris, the rest of their morning had been relatively quiet. As both Ash and Iris prepared for the day ahead of them, neither one of them had the nerve to speak to each other about what had happened before the sudden intervention of Iris's mother. Eventually, during breakfast, the unbridled romantic tension in the air became a bit too jarring for Cilan to ignore. Perhaps it was the way his typically colloquial friends refused to talk to each other, or the way they ignored each other's gaze, but still attempted to sneak looks at each other when they were sure the other wasn't looking. A few rather obvious conclusions began to form in Cilan's head, but ultimately, he decided to stay quiet as well in order to avoid the verbal chastisement that would soon follow if he did so much as imply the idea of a romantic relationship between the two children.

With the awkward breakfast finally over and the day still ahead of them, the group set off from Iris's house and made their way to the tournament grounds, their Pokémon and Deino following them closely with the exception of Pikachu and Axew, who rode atop their respective trainers in their typical spots. Although both Oshawott and Emolga were enjoying the leisure time they seldom received outside of their Poké Balls, they still couldn't enjoy this time as much due to their concern for their trainers, who remained silent as they continued to avoid each other to Cilan and Pikachu's discomfort. Feeling the need to escape this uncomfortable situation, Pikachu's eyes started to wander and he began to marvel at the lush, green landscape around him as well as the occasional wooden cottage and wild Pokémon that their group passed. This continued for a few minutes until he turned around to see Deino focusing on Iris's hair. Now, Pikachu already knew that the large tuft of hair was an interesting sight, so he paid her no mind; unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about Axew, who began to feel unnerved by the four-legged dragon's constant gaze.

"Can you please stop staring this way?" Axew pleaded to Deino as he poked his head out of the mass of hair he called home. "It's embarrassing."

"Strange? What do you mean by that?" Axew asked with a somewhat coy smile before Deino continued.

"It's nothing major, really, but your trainer seems so much nicer than the people I've seen around here lately. When I was wandering around this village with the boy in the hat, I saw some people looking at us, but the faces they made were really weird. They kind of looked like they were scared of something."

"Why would they act scared around you? Did you do something bad?" Axew asked with a look of confusion on his face.

"Well, I don't really know how it happened, but I think they were angry because I hurt Ash."

"You hurt Ash?!" Axew cried out in response to the shocking fact.

"Shhhh! Not so loud!" Deino quickly whisper-shouted to Axew before looking around to see if anyone was alarmed. To her surprise, no one seemed to be paying attention to their conversation, and with a sigh of relief, Deino began to speak again, becoming only more and more depressed as her explanation continued. "I don't even know how it happened. All I remember is that I was in a battle, it got pretty exciting, and then I blacked out. When I finally woke up, I was back at the Pokémon Center and the boy with the hat was sitting in a chair with bandages all over him."

"Don't feel bad about yourself," Axew said in an attempt to cheer Deino up after seeing the expression of sadness on her face. "I'm sure that you didn't mean to hurt Ash like that."

"It's funny. He said pretty much the same thing that you just said, even though he was the one that got hurt," Deino remarked with a quick smirk. "He seems pretty nice, too, but I think he didn't blame me only because he was just trying to be considerate. I bet he still hates me because of what I did." After hearing these comments, Axew opinion on Deino began to change. At first, he had thought that Deino was just another lost Pokémon that liked to have fun at other people's expense and embarrassment, but after their short conversation, he started to learn that despite how she may act, she still cared about what other people thought of her. With this new thought in mind, Axew attempted to cheer her up again.

"Again, don't worry about it, Deino. There's no way that Ash would hate you over something that wasn't even your fault in the first place. He's too kind and generous."

"Is that why Ash gets along so well with your trainer and the moss-headed guy standing between them?" Deino asked as she began to cheer up after Axew's constant attempts to do just that.

"Yeah," Axew quickly answered. "Even though they argue sometimes, they learn more about each other, and they will always be great friends with each other."

"Okay, then I guess it's time for me to stop acting so sad and start learning more about my new friend, too." Deino said as he looked towards Axew with a large grin that made him smile as well.

~*~

Only a few minutes had passed since the conversation between the two small dragons started, but within that short amount of time, they had already learned so much more about each other than they had known before. When they first met, Axew had his small doubts about the somewhat wayward Deino, but as their conversation continued, these negative opinions slowly became no more than a simple afterthought. Although they were slow to respond, both Oshawott and Emolga began to have a change of heart as well, or rather, they began to express this change when they got involved in the conversation as well. As the four Pokémon continued to talk amongst each other, the once uneasy atmosphere around them was gradually replaced with an air of joy and merriment that infected the trainers they traveled with as well. Pikachu wanted to join the conversation as well, but felt that he needed to stay by his trainer's side to support him; fortunately for him, Ash wasn't a selfish person and could easily tell that his partner wanted to hang out with his Pokémon friends, and after a bit of coaxing and reassuring, that's exactly what he did. It felt a bit weird for Ash to walk around without the yellow mouse on his shoulder, but he didn't let it bother him too much. After a few more minutes of walking, a decently-sized white tent began to come into the group's view.

"So this is where the tournament is going to be held?" Ash wondered aloud as they continued walking down the road.

"That's right," Iris responded. "The tournament itself isn't really that popular outside of the village, but the people who live here tend to use it as a way to bond with their own Dragon Pokémon or as a self-imposed final exam to see if they are ready to start their journey into the outside world."

"It sounds like this tournament has a very competitive taste," Cilan commented with a quick smile.

"It tends to be taken very seriously by the villagers, but sometimes, they can go a little too far with it," Iris said as a sheepish grin formed on her face. "You have some trainers in this village that challenge the competitors before the tournament day even arrives in order to see if they're worthy of even participating. There are even some cases where, after the battles, the competitors get cold feet and withdraw from the tournament. The problem itself got so bad that the Matriarch started managing the registrations herself, and even though her methods for getting it done are a bit…unorthodox, it's made things go by much more smoothly."

"Is that the reason why we left the house so early?" Cilan asked with a somewhat concerned expression.

"Sort of," Iris replied. "We have to tell the Matriarch which Pokémon we're using, anyway, and she's usually up very early on this day so people can register without going through any grief."

"Well, it's not like it matters anyway. My Pokémon and I are still going to have fun and win this tournament." Ash said with a look of determination.

"Now what makes you think that you're going to win?" Iris said with a smug look on her face. "Axew and I have been training pretty hard, too." As soon as he heard his trainer mention his name, Axew took a break from the conversation he was having with the other Pokémon in order listen to what his trainer and Ash were saying.

"And my Pokémon and I have been training even harder." Ash shot back.

"Well, it wouldn't matter anyway," Iris bragged with her hands casually behind her head. "There's no way I'm going to lose against a kid who can't even beat me in a simple race."

"Is that a challenge I hear?!" Ash asked as he raised a clenched hand towards his face.

"Depends on what you think. All I'm saying is that I can easily get to the tent and back before you can even reach it." Iris said as she looked towards Ash, still keeping her air of confidence.

"Well, that's pretty hard to do that when I already have a head start." Ash said with a grin before quickly running away.

"Hey! Come back here!" Iris said before quickly running after Ash.

"Hey! Wait! Where are you going?!" Both Axew and Deino shouted in surprise after Iris's sudden take-off before Deino quickly chased after Axew and his trainer, leaving Cilan and the other Pokémon behind in the process.

"Hmm, it looks like they're feeling much better now," Cilan thought to himself, feeling a bit lonely as he watched his friends run farther and farther away from him. As he turned his head to look at the other Pokémon that were left behind, another thought began to plague his mind. "I wonder what Georgia is doing right now."

~*~

Staying neck and neck with each other, both Ash and Iris continued to move at breakneck speeds in the final stretch towards the tournament grounds with nothing but the goal of winning occupying their minds. Still feeling surprised by their sudden take-off, Deino managed to avoid being left behind and continued to chase after the two trainers, and more specifically, Axew, who felt a bit sad that his conversation was interrupted so suddenly. With Deino still in his view, Axew began to feel relieved when he noticed his trainer slowing down with Ash behind her.

"Hah! It looks like I won once again, Ash," Iris said with a look of triumph as Ash stood behind her, still panting after running so quickly.

"No, I'm the one that won this race," Ash gasped with a smile, much to Iris's confusion until he regained his breath and continued. "You said you could make it here and back before I could even get here, but you didn't, so you're the one that lost."

"You really think I meant that? I was just saying that to mess with you, but I didn't think you would take me seriously. You're such a kid." Iris said to cover up the small technicality.

"So that's where we have to register for the tournament, Iris?" Ash asked as he focused on the tent to his right, trying to ignore the fact that Iris had called him a kid again. As he continued to look at the tent, he began to take notice of the extra figures that decorated the tent, such as the red circles that hung on the edges in the front and the golden, cross-like figure that stood above its entrance.

"Yeah, the Old Matriarch should be taking registrations in there, but she'll only see one person at a time, so I'll go ahead to register Axew," Iris said before she began to walk toward the tent. Ash began to walk towards the tent as well, but before he could take a step, he felt something bump into his leg that made him lose his balance. Being all too familiar with this situation, Ash quickly regained his balance before he looked down to see Deino at his feet.

"Oh, I didn't think that you would be chasing after us, Deino. You really should be careful about where you're running, though, or I might start to mistake you for someone else," Ash lectured Deino, who could only give an annoyed look before responding.

"Hey! You're about as guilty as I am. You're supposed to be my caretaker, but you suddenly ran off without me, and when I was talking to Axew and everyone else, too." Ash could only stand and listen for the next moment or two as Deino continued on with her inaudible complaining.

"Ash! Come over here quick! You won't believe who's here!" Iris called from a distance, drawing Ash's attention away from Deino in the process.

"Now, what could she be calling for this time, and who's that girl beside her?" Ash thought to himself as he walked towards the tent.

"Hey! Don't walk away while I'm still talking!" Deino yelled before walking after Ash. As she continued her futile efforts to get Ash's attention again, her anger was slowly replaced with curiosity and alertness when she took noticed of the short-haired, brunette girl that stood beside Iris. As Deino focused more on the unfamiliar person, she also began to take notice of the yellow hoop earrings she wore on her ears as well as her teal blue eyes, which seemed to match the rest of her clothes in color. For a moment, Deino wondered who this person was as Ash came to a stop in front of her and Iris.

"So Ash, can you remember who this girl is?" Iris asked Ash as she motioned towards the girl beside herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again after so long, Ash," the brunette said with a graceful smile. For a moment, Ash focused heavily on the girl in an effort to recognize who she was, but eventually, after noticing the unnerved looks that both Iris and the brunette wore, Ash could only give an embarrassed look before breaking his silence.

"I'm sorry, Iris, but I just can't remember. We meet a lot of people in our travels, so it's hard to remember every single person I've met," Ash admitted, feeling a bit guilty as well. Iris could only give a sigh of defeat before speaking while the brunette could only continue to smile to avoid being rude.

"Ash, this is Amy, the girl we met when we were traveling towards Nimbasa City, and right before Axew mastered Dragon Rage."

"Hmm, Amy, Amy, Dragon Sneeze…" Ash mumbled to himself before finally remembering the events that took place on that day. "Oh! Now I remember! It's nice to see you too, Amy, but what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Well…" Amy started, taking a moment to think about what she was going to say before she continued. "After you and Iris helped me bond with my Druddigon, I started traveling across the Unova region for a while and captured a few new Pokémon. I've even started taking the Gym Leader challenge."

"Really?!" Ash responded, feeling a bit proud after hearing this bit of news. "That's great. How many badges have you won so far?"

"Sadly, I haven't won any badges so far," Amy said with a nervous smile. "To be honest, I was kind of worried about how I was doing, and how my Pokémon were feeling after the losses, but then I remembered what Iris had said about the Dragon Village. I thought that a visit to the village would give me a great chance to bond with my Pokémon, so here I am."

"Well, I hope you've been enjoying your time here," Iris said, feeling a bit happy and proud as well. "So, how long have you been in the Dragon Village for now?"

"I've been here for about six days now," Amy responded as a figure began to appear from a distance, going largely unnoticed by everyone except Deino as it slowly drew closer to them. "So far, the training has been going pretty well, and when I heard about the tournament that was being held here, I thought it would be a good way to test how far I've gotten with my Pokémon, but right now, I just feel a little nervous. There are so many strong trainers here participating, and I'm just a starting trainer, but I started feeling a little better thanks to a new friend I met yesterday."

"New friend?" Ash asked before Deino began to nudge his head in an effort to warn him about the approaching figure.

"Yeah, and she's very strong, too," Amy responded. "I was honestly shocked when she beat all of those trainers at the Pokémon Center, and she looked a bit scary when she lost against this one guy, but once I got to talk to her for a bit, she turned out to be a very nice person. I wanted to come to the tournament grounds with her this morning, but she said that she had a few things to take care of before she left. I really hope that nothing happened to her before she left. Some of the trainers she beat looked really angry when they lost."

As these thoughts continued to occupy her mind, Amy slowly forgot that she was still talking to Ash and Iris, who began to think about what she had said as well while Deino continued to nudge at Ash's leg in order to warn him about the figure that now stood near the group. First taking a glance at Deino and then at the three trainers that continued to ignore Deino, the figure slowly inhaled and prepared to shout.

"Hey, Ash! Your Pokémon is trying to get your attention! At least be nice enough to respond!"

Shocked by the sudden interjection, the three trainers turned towards the battlefield to see who the source of the shout was. When they finally got a clear view of the person, all they saw was a boy that was slightly taller than Ash, but only because his body was constantly slouched. He had dull, brown eyes and the only noticeable clothes that he wore to cover his slightly tanned skin were a gray T-shirt and black pants that were obviously worn out and held up by a belt that carried his shrunken Poké Balls. His black hair was also a good sign of his lack of concern for personal appearance, for it was long and bushy. Upon seeing this person, Iris began to feel disdain welling up inside of her, but before she could unleash it, she was quickly cut off by Ash, who responded before she could even speak.

"Well, I tried to register my Pokémon yesterday, but I couldn't get to the Matriarch because of all the people challenging me, and then there was some personal business that I wanted to take care of," Vincent said with a conservative smile.

"Really? What kind of business was that?" Ash asked. As the idle conversation between Ash and Vincent continued, Iris could only stand back and watch with growing worry as she continued to wonder how the duo were getting along so well.

"Why does he, out of all people, have to be here now of all times? Wait. How does he even know Ash so well? Did they meet each other before?" As these thoughts consumed her, Iris slowly became more unaware of what was going on around her.

"Iris," a voice called out. "Iris? Are you listening?" Upon hearing this voice, Iris quickly snapped back to reality to see that the voice was coming from Ash, who was looking somewhat concerned as he continued to look at Iris. "Are you okay, Iris? You looked worried about something."

"Why would I be worried? I'm perfectly fine with your new friend." Iris quickly lied as she attempted to hide her feelings.

"I didn't even introduce you to him yet." Ash complained.

"Then why are you keeping us waiting? Why don't you introduce us to him right now?" Iris said, desperate to change the topic. For a moment, Ash carefully examined her in an effort to understand her sudden change in behavior. Eventually, still feeling a little concerned, Ash decided to give up and take Iris's advice and introduce his new friend.

"Anyway, Amy, Iris, this is my new friend, Vincent."

"It's nice to meet the both of you, but…it feels kind of weird to introduce myself to people that I've already met," Vincent said.

"Well, even if everyone here keeps forgetting other people, at least this little girl still remembers me," Vincent said as he walked towards the Deino beside Iris and bent down to pet her. At first, Deino felt somewhat startled, but as he continued to pet her, she begrudgingly decided to settle down and let him have his way. "I really hope that you've been taking good care of your Pokémon, Ash."

"Don't worry," Ash said, still feeling a bit annoyed. "She's been doing just fine so far."

"It sure doesn't seem that way with how easily you ignored her," Vincent responded. "You really should give more concern to your own Pokémon before people start to get the wrong idea."

"That's not what I found out when I-…Wait. Ash, are you traveling with Iris right now?" Vincent asked after he stopped petting Deino and quickly turned his head towards Ash, who couldn't help but give a look of guilt. "Oh boy, I should probably just shut up now. I've already said too much."

"No, no, no. Please continue on with what you were saying," Iris said, feeling more curious about what Vincent was about to say.

"Fine," Vincent reluctantly said as he began to stand up again. "If you must know, when I was with Ash yesterday, I saw Ash catch Deino with my own eyes."

"Oh, is that so?" Iris said as her anger rose. Ash could only stand and feel even more guilty and afraid as Vincent continued with his story.

"Yeah, and I'm kind of mad about it, too. I wanted to catch that Deino myself, but Ash barely beat me to it. I'm honestly surprised that Ash didn't tell you about the capture by now. It was pretty intense." By this point, Iris was simply beside herself with anger, yet somehow, she still managed to keep a cheerful smile as she looked towards a fearful Ash. For a moment, the area around the group remained silent until Iris decided to break it.

"Ash, can I talk to you somewhere private for a minute. It's something really important."

"Umm, can we talk about it later?" Ash asked, feeling somewhat aware of what was going to happen next.

"No, this is something really important that can't wait," Iris insisted before dragging Ash away by his arm. Feeling just as afraid of what would happen, Axew quickly jumped out of Iris's hair and walked towards the rest of the group. Although he felt guilty about leaving Ash alone with his trainer, he already knew from experience that when Iris was angry, there's nothing that he can do about it. Amy could only continue to watch, still feeling clueless about what was going on.

And here marks the end of Chapter 8. I hope that you all enjoyed this very, very, VERY late installment, and I also hope that Ash survive's Iris's wrath (where's Cilan when you need him). Funny thing is, according to my watch, I posted this the same day that "A Sandile Gusher of Change" aired in Japan. I feel happy about finally giving some details about what happened while Iris was asleep in Chapter 4 (I'm still thinking I made the fight scene there too weird and outlandish). So, how does everyone feel about the new rival? I hope I did a good job on him, because I certainly didn't like the new rival he was given in the anime after the World Tournament Junior Cup.

*coughs importantly* I must say this is one of my favorite chapters in the whole of the fic. The use of words like 'colliquial' gave it a very professional tone, as if it were a real book. More than anything, I enjoyed the development of Ash and Iris through their dialouge. It flowed very nicely, and while reinforcing Negaishipping, it also made their individual characters not as bland as they often are in the anime. (Particularly Ash's clever comment about his actually winning their race).

As always, the pokemon interactions from their POVs was expertly done and cleverly integrated. Vincent is clearly top notch, and if I'm like anyone here, I'm looking forward to the next chapter both for more of him, and the likely scary 'conversation' Iris wants to have with Ash.

† I am a Christian and proud of it! Copy and paste this if you are too.†

*coughs importantly* I must say this is one of my favorite chapters in the whole of the fic. The use of words like 'colliquial' gave it a very professional tone, as if it were a real book. More than anything, I enjoyed the development of Ash and Iris through their dialouge. It flowed very nicely, and while reinforcing Negaishipping, it also made their individual characters not as bland as they often are in the anime. (Particularly Ash's clever comment about his actually winning their race).

As always, the pokemon interactions from their POVs was expertly done and cleverly integrated. Vincent is clearly top notch, and if I'm like anyone here, I'm looking forward to the next chapter both for more of him, and the likely scary 'conversation' Iris wants to have with Ash.

I gotta give credit where credit is due. ScourgeOfHell helped me a lot with that first part. I'm normally not a fan of using big words, so his assistance was very useful (He certainly knows Cilan's character better than I do). Also, I have to thank you, Jerda Foks, for doing some beta reading. The help is always great to have.

Aw, you're making me look like I did more than I did man. Thanks all the same, but don't foget, you're the one who came up with the story and the scenes in the first place, so you get more credit than all of us who helped out.

† I am a Christian and proud of it! Copy and paste this if you are too.†

Nice chapter. I like how some more stuff is revealed, but bringing Amy in? Didn't see that one coming! I forgot who Vincent was, is he your OC or an actual character? Anyways, what is this about Ash catching Deino? I'm feeling excited now, Iris is going to explode in his face about this, isn't she? The race Ash and Iris had was fun to read, but when Cilan thought about Georgia I remembered the small ship between the two. Nothing short of a chapter from The Truth Beneath the Iris, that's for sure.

However, there was a bit too much "telling" in the beginning. When Axew had a paragraph that said about his feelings changing for Deino, how about have this his own thoughts with italics. The story rolls smoother that way. And what was that unorthodox way the Mariach toned everything down, anyways? I have a feeling I must wait for the next chapter...mousedung!

Keep up the good work!

Ninja

(((i haven't used this site in about five years so if i mess up call me out)))

Nice chapter. I like how some more stuff is revealed, but bringing Amy in? Didn't see that one coming! I forgot who Vincent was, is he your OC or an actual character? Anyways, what is this about Ash catching Deino? I'm feeling excited now, Iris is going to explode in his face about this, isn't she? The race Ash and Iris had was fun to read, but when Cilan thought about Georgia I remembered the small ship between the two. Nothing short of a chapter from The Truth Beneath the Iris, that's for sure.

However, there was a bit too much "telling" in the beginning. When Axew had a paragraph that said about his feelings changing for Deino, how about have this his own thoughts with italics. The story rolls smoother that way. And what was that unorthodox way the Mariach toned everything down, anyways? I have a feeling I must wait for the next chapter...mousedung!

Keep up the good work!

Ninja

I couldn't pass up using Amy for this story. She had a lot of relevance to Iris's goal, and it seemed like keeping her out would be a waste of a good OC (What did they do to Shamus). Yeah, Ash caught Deino, and Iris is already making her anger-driven assumptions about how it happened. She might learn the real story when she and Ash finish their talk...or not. She might find out during the tournament. Who knows? All I know is that Ash is that after the conversation, Ash is going to be a bit deaf (Might be because he's trying so hard to cover for whatever Deino did). Hopefully, he'll survive, but what really happened may stay a mystery (To Iris and friends, anyway). As always, I'm still rocking the Georgia x Cilan boat for fun. What's that ship called, anyway? Or is it a new thing?

Yeah, it probably would've been better if I did spend less space simply telling the stuff and spent more time letting the emotions flow out through dialogue and thought instead. Oh well, we all make mistakes.

With so many Dragon Village trainers heckling the future competitors and constantly challenging them, the Matriarch decided that it would be better to do registration the morning of the day the tournament starts in case people have a last-minute change of heart or all the other Pokemon are too pooped to actually battle by the time the tournament starts (Spongebob Snail Race, anyone?). She'll even talk with the registering trainers a bit and counsel with them if they're having shaky thoughts when they show up.

Now is the time for people to make assumptions on what will happen in the next chapter.

That whole thing with the Matriarch acting as a sort of councilor is a really great idea. I think that should be something incorporated into the canon Regional Leagues. It would add a sort of realism to the whole competition, as well as making it clear that the League really does care about all their competitors.

Speculation time! Obviously I think there'll be a heated argument between Iris and Ash. The outcome of that is still up in the air, though I think the results, whatever they may be, will carry into the first battle of the tournament. I hope the next chapter will incorporate the first battle. I also suspect a shift in POV to that of Cilan or Georgia, by which we learn more about Vincent, his pokemon, his personality, and his relation to the Village and Iris.

That whole thing with the Matriarch acting as a sort of councilor is a really great idea. I think that should be something incorporated into the canon Regional Leagues. It would add a sort of realism to the whole competition, as well as making it clear that the League really does care about all their competitors.

Speculation time! Obviously I think there'll be a heated argument between Iris and Ash. The outcome of that is still up in the air, though I think the results, whatever they may be, will carry into the first battle of the tournament. I hope the next chapter will incorporate the first battle. I also suspect a shift in POV to that of Cilan or Georgia, by which we learn more about Vincent, his pokemon, his personality, and his relation to the Village and Iris.

Must. Not. Reveal. Spoilers!
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Ugh! Fine! I wonder how long Ash will go before he spill the beans on what really happened with Deino. Maybe for the book? Maybe for his whole life? Maybe he'll keep the secret for only half an act. It might be determined by the feelings Iris shows? Maybe Ash will instantly blow. All I really know for sure is that it will make the couple mature. They may make up and share a kiss (or Georgia will interrupt that for a lol and to diss).

I hope that didn't spoil too much, but just to be plain and 100% truthful about at least one thing, all I'll say is that whatever Ash did was for the sake of both Deino and Iris. Just imagine if Vincent or another trainer caught Deino on Ash's watch (they are in a Dragon Village, after all). If that were to happen, there would be no point in continuing the story. Why? Because Ash would surely be dead by next chapter.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Chapter 7 of this fic could be a one-shot in its own right. I guess that chapter was mainly filler, but whatever, this IS a shipping fic, after all.